No Joke: Lexington’s expanding local comedy scene leaves no shortage of laughs

by

In less than a year, the city has seen a marked increase in locally organized live local humor; perhaps leading the cause is a new monthly series at Al’s Bar organized by local comedy enthusiasts Tony Manuel and Chuck Clenney. Rising from the ashes of the No-to-Low Expectations Comedy Night, another (now-defunct) series highlighting local amateur comics, Al’s Comedy Series has not only mobilized local and regional comics, but also has provided a central space and new audience for Lexington’s stand-up community, which had been without a home base outside of the popular south Lexington venue Comedy Off Broadway. Nestled in the quickly developing landscape of Lexington’s north side, the laid-back venue allows comedians to feel more at ease with performing and showcasing new material.

“We wanted to give local comedians a place to consistently come try out new material and work it out before getting on a big stage,” said Clenney. “It’s a relaxed environment filled with intelligent audiences.”

Until recently, much of the comedic atmosphere in Lexington surrounded Comedy Off Broadway. A favorite spot for local audiences and touring comedians alike, Comedy Off Broadway opened its doors on North Broadway in 1987. It wasn’t until August 1994 that it made its way to its current home, inside The Mall at Lexington Green off of Nicholasville Road.

The award-winning club’s event calendar boasts notable personalities from the larger world of stand-up, many of whom are recognizable to even those not savvy in the current comedy landscape. Typical of most comedy clubs, each week’s featured headliner usually performs three to four nights, often starting on Thursday and spanning through the weekend.

While the programming at Comedy Off Broadway is centered around well-known national comedians, the club aims to not lose sight of the comics in its own backyard. The opening acts for shows at Comedy Off Broadway are usually comedians who are touring along with the week’s headliner, but regional touring comedians can also be “feature” acts, performing between local emcee Scott Wilson and the headliner that night.

“There is a very strong pool of talent in Lexington. We’ve been able to hire several of the more experienced comedians to serve as opening acts in various positions on the shows,” said club owner Jordan Hawley. In addition to its regular schedule, Comedy Off Broadway also hosts a monthly open mic where each local comic is allotted three minutes of stage time, allowing for nearly 30 different participants in a single night.

It was at the Comedy Off Broadway open mic that Manuel had his first taste of performing stand-up. “My buddy [Al’s Comedy Series co-host] Ruda Tovar stopped by my work and mentioned he was doing the open mic at Comedy Off Broadway. He said he could get me on the bill, and I knew if I didn’t do it then I probably never would.” Despite not being able to elicit a single laugh in the room that night, Manuel was filled with an addicting fervor. “I went out with a few prepared jokes. I bombed. I wanted to vomit, but after I got off the stage I was hooked.”

Open mic nights serve an important purpose in the world of comedy. “New material needs to be tested in front of an audience on a stage,” explains Josh Filipowski, host and creator of Micadelic – a twice-weekly open mic held Mondays at Patchen Pub and Thursdays at Al’s Beer Garden (recently switched from Fridays).

Micadelic’s Friday night slot at Al’s Beer Garden is more comedy-heavy, while Patchen Pub draws performers from all corners. “We’ve had incredible talent grace our stage: music, poetry, comedy, DJs, magicians, you name it. We always have a comedian or host to introduce the acts and keep the flow of the show, and anyone and everyone is invited to perform,” said Filipowski.

“Josh has built a community of people who either wanted to try comedy or have been doing it but didn’t have anywhere to work out new material,” said Clenney, nodding to the influence of Micadelic on local comics. Clenney cites Filipowski as an adamant organizer within the comedy community. Aside from his work with Micadelic, Filipowski also recently produced The Local Comedy Harvest at Comedy Off Broadway – a showcase of Lexington’s best – and is teaching a stand-up comedy-writing class at the Carnegie Center this month as well.

Filipowski grew up in Westchester County, New York, and began his own comedic career in a stand-up workshop taught by well-known comedian and comedy teacher Chris Murphy at the New York Comedy Club.

“I had some funny stories from high school and college, and the class really helped me edit them down to find the funny,” said Filipowski. “Once I had my first show making strangers laugh, I was hooked and have been at it ever since.”

While Comedy Off Broadway handles the major players, organizers such as Filipowski and Manuel provide a much-needed outlet for local and regional comedic talent, although they do bring in bigger names when circumstances allow. Offbeat comedian Stewart Huff, a Kentucky native who has gotten national attention for his genuine approach, has performed at the Al’s Bar Comedy Series many times – including at December’s one-year series anniversary – and Kurt Braunohler, whose resumè includes shows such as “Bob’s Burgers,” “The New Girl,” “Chelsea Lately and more,” sold out Al’s Bar when he performed in August. (Braunohler was so impressed with the event that he later tweeted “Holy S*** LEXINGTON KENTUCKY IS AN AMAZING COMEDY TOWN. Who knew?! Comedians, seriously, play @alsbarlexington and thank me later.” and “Everyone should know about @allanivie. He’s a Lexington KY comedian who writes better jokes than you.”)

As Clenney explained, bringing bigger headliners allows more comics to get time in front of a larger audience and “provide[s] a place for people in Lexington to come see the funny.” But looking forward, Clenney and Manuel are focusing almost primarily on enriching the homegrown talent in Lexington, gearing the series almost exclusively toward the local scene.

“Our role is to support the local and regional acts who don’t really have a place to work out new material and don’t have attentive audiences,” said Clenney. “I think that’s more our niche, where we fall in the whole comedy wavelength of Lexington.”

Micadelic

(Open Mic)

A twice-weekly open mic hosted by Josh Filipowski, featuring comedy and more:

• Mondays, 9 p.m. at Patchen Pub, 153 Patchen Dr.

• Thursdays, 9 p.m. at Al’s Beer Garden, 601 N. Limestone (entrance faces West Sixth Street, behind Al’s Bar)

This month’s installment of the Al’s Comedy Series takes place Feb. 11 and will feature comedians Krish Mohan, Allan Ivie, Overtime and Zach Bennet. Follow “Al’s Comedy Series” on Facebook to keep up with future events. ss

Tags

by

.